Blog Archives

Leadership Skills

6/29/2015

Essential Leadership Skills
Turn your ideas into action

To succeed in business you need the leadership skills to lead a team that can turn your ideas into productive action.

The leadership qualities we all need to have include:

Listening And Learning
There is a classic Simon & Garfunkel song that says, “… People talking without speaking. People hearing without listening … “We have to listen to what our stakeholders say. Analyse the feedback and research the facts so you can make informed decisions that support your business objectives.

Establish channels for continual communication with your stakeholders.

Informed Risk Taking
Business is about taking calculated risk. This requires weighing all the strengths and weaknesses of all available options. The final decision requires steps that can be taken to mitigate risk.

Risk management includes planning the course of action that needs to be taken in the event of a negative outcome occurring.

Some years ago a tsunami destroyed hotels and small businesses along the beach-front in the region of Phuket, Thailand. This was a very popular international tourist destination. When a tsunami happens it can cause almost total loss for businesses in the area. However, the likelihood of a tsunami actually happening is small.

Many of the small businesses in this part of Thailand did not have insurance to cover the losses. The only positive factor was that the capital needed to rebuild these businesses were small enough to enable the leaders of many businesses to restart their business.

Planning for the worst case scenario is an essential leadership skill that can help you to take the necessary calculated risk.

Building A Team of Talents
The extent of leadership success is very depended on the quality of your team of advisers and individuals involved in implementing your action plan.

Engage the best people possible to work with you. Business leadership requires the ability to govern a business competitively. This requires the skills for getting the right talents to perform to best of their ability in implementing your plan of action.

The successful entrepreneurs in the field of information technology succeeded in giving us smart devices and software applications by hiring the best minds in engineering, finance and marketing.

So, learn from the best, build your team of talents and motivate them to act decisively. Siddha Param
International Business Consultant

Reboot your business plan for sustained high growth

Click For Link To:

CENTRE FOR EXCELLENCE

BUSINESS EXCHANGE DIRECTORY

Do share this article on social media and with those interested

0 Comments

Customer Care

6/23/2015

1 Comment

IF YOU GET HIT BY A BUS …

If you got hit by a bus on your way to work one day, could your team, department or business run without you? How easy would it be for someone to step in and assume your responsibilities until you were able to return to work? Would the disruption and inconvenience to your internal and external customers be extreme or would it be a recoverable blip?

I believe we need to hope we never get hit by a bus, but put a plan in place in case we do. That means if you are responsible for payroll, someone else knows what needs to be done in case you are not there. That means a list of ‘who to call for what’ needs to written down and shared with your team, instead of keeping that knowledge in your head. That means all that information that you 'just know' and share when training a new team member is documented and incorporated into a training document.

Hoarding knowledge and information may make us feel indispensable, but in the world of business, being indispensable is not a good thing. If we truly care about our internal and external customers, we need to ensure that the service they expect from our business will continue with or without us.

So, if you are the only person who knows how to (fill in the blank), go in to work today and identify one or two other people who have the ability to take that role or task on in the event you can't. Train them, support them and then watch out for buses!

This article reflects the views of Laurie Barkman our Guest Speaker.

© Laurie Barkman

Click For Link To:

CENTRE FOR EXCELLENCE

BUSINESS EXCHANGE DIRECTORY

Do share this article on social media and with those interested

DISCLAIMER
All views and content in the above article are solely that of the Guest Speaker and does not in any way constitute an endorsement or promotion or views of StrandRidge.com and/or its owner who collectively disclaim all and/or any liability whatsoever that may arise from copyright claims or by a viewer of this website reading, acting on, contacting and/or interacting, and/or establishing a relationship and/or transacting in whatsoever manner with the Guest Speaker herein. StrandRidge.com and/or its owner have the sole and absolute discretion to edit, add and/or remove this Article from StrandRidge.com

1 Comment

Business Networks

6/16/2015

0 Comments

Building Your Network,
It’s Not About You
by
Brian Campbell

These days when people talk about building their network, they are usually thinking about an online network such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc. And, although I agree that this type of social networking is very important in our day and age, it shouldn’t override the original social network, going out and talking with people face to face. To really get recognized in business, you need both social networks, online and face to face.

However, no matter what you choose, good networking shouldn’t be all about getting sales. To be successful as a business person, you need to be trusted, and people won’t trust you if all they see is someone who is trying to sell them something.

When you meet someone, don’t lead with a sales pitch. This will put people on their guard and they will hesitate to open up to you. Do it often enough and they will avoid you when they see you coming.

Instead, lead with a smile. Ask them about who they are and what they do. Not only ask, listen to the answer. People will notice whether or not you are paying attention. Be interested in what they do and remember them. Maybe you know someone who can use their services. Maybe you can use their services yourself. If you help them out, they will remember you.

When somebody new joins a networking group you are part of, introduce them to other business people you know. Help them to make connections and make them feel welcome in the group. Being the go-to person in the group will help you to stick in the new person’s mind.

Tell people what you do, but don’t spend all your networking time simply looking for customers. Not everyone you meet will need your services, but that doesn’t mean that there is no purpose in talking to them. Maybe they know someone who could use your services, or they may meet someone who does at the very next networking group they attend. They may also have the type of service that compliments yours and you can collaborate on a project. Even if none of this applies, all connections are good connections, even if it only means that you have met someone new.

Online is the same, yet different. These days, people check out websites and social media when deciding who to do business with and you can and will be judged by who you connect with. You will also be judged by what you post and like, and by what your connections post and like. So use caution. You don’t need to connect with people who can only benefit you, but you shouldn’t connect with people and sites that can harm your credibility. Remember that the Internet is forever, so you don’t want to post something that may embarrass you in the future.

Once you have chosen your connections online, stay connected with them. Watch what they post and “like” comment and “share” things that interest you. Much like face to face networking, social media only works if you work it. You wouldn’t go to a networking meeting and sit in a corner by yourself, not talking to anyone, so don’t do it when you go on social media.

Will doing these things get you sales? Maybe, maybe not, but it’s a start. What it will do is get you known, recognized and eventually trusted. People will think of you when they have a job in your line of work. They may even think of you when they meet someone else who needs work in your field. But you still have to prove that you are good at your job to get consistent business. Networking can help you to promote yourself, but at the end of the day it is your work that will make the final sale.

Networking, online or face to face, is not about making a sale. In fact, it isn’t about you at all. It is about what you can do for others. If you take the focus off what you can get and focus instead on what you can offer, only then will you be successful at networking.

This article reflects the views of Brian Campbell our Guest Speaker.

© Brian Campbell

Click For Link To:

CENTRE FOR EXCELLENCE

BUSINESS EXCHANGE DIRECTORY

Do share this article on social media and with those interested

DISCLAIMER
All views and content in the above article are solely that of the Guest Speaker and does not in any way constitute an endorsement or promotion or views of StrandRidge.com and/or its owner who collectively disclaim all and/or any liability whatsoever that may arise from copyright claims or by a viewer of this website reading, acting on, contacting and/or interacting, and/or establishing a relationship and/or transacting in whatsoever manner with the Guest Speaker herein. StrandRidge.com and/or its owner have the sole and absolute discretion to edit, add and/or remove this Article from StrandRidge.com

0 Comments

Personal Development

6/10/2015

0 Comments

Leaders Need To Understand This
Focusing on personal development
Presentation by
Guest Speaker Bob Lauzé

Man is a mystery. If you spend your entire life trying to puzzle it out do not say that you’ve wasted your time. I occupy myself with this mystery because I want to be a man. - Fyodor Dostoevsky

Dostoevsky wrote this quote when he was only 17. He never mentioned material gain. But he did achieve great success with his first novel Poor Folk. His focus has been “to be a man” in exchange for a lifetime of labour.

For Dostoevsky personal development was not a means to become a great writer, but a means to work towards personal development. To achieve true success in life we must do what this great writer did.

People seldom consider that a person might become an entrepreneur to achieve personal development. More often it is considered that personal development is undertaken to achieve success in business.

The purpose of life is for us to become the best human being possible. Personal development is therefore the goal. We need to make personal development the core mission in our life.

True business success comes from ensuring that our personal and business lives are a part of a higher mission of becoming the best possible human being.

Business success should be a result of living for a higher purpose. In focusing personal development on a higher mission our business and personal life will work out right.

Simply live life. We have to pursue personal development to the point that it becomes a habit and we never think about it.

Stories of true success confirm that when we start as entrepreneurs as a way to attain personal development, we will in the end succeed with the realization that it is not the money we make but the enrichment we feel about having become better human beings that is the true reward.

This article reflects the views of Bob Lauzé our Guest Speaker.

© Bob Lauzé

Click For Link To:

CENTRE FOR EXCELLENCE

BUSINESS EXCHANGE DIRECTORY

Do share this article on social media and with those interested

DISCLAIMER
All views and content in the above article are solely that of the Guest Speaker and does not in any way constitute an endorsement or promotion or views of StrandRidge.com and/or its owner who collectively disclaim all and/or any liability whatsoever that may arise from copyright claims or by a viewer of this website reading, acting on, contacting and/or interacting, and/or establishing a relationship and/or transacting in whatsoever manner with the Guest Speaker herein. StrandRidge.com and/or its owner have the sole and absolute discretion to edit, add and/or remove this Article from StrandRidge.com

0 Comments

Public Relations & Sales

6/4/2015

0 Comments

Public Relations and Sales
Tell your compelling story

Anita Roddick’s story is as much about her as it is about the global brand she created. She believed that success is more than a good idea. It is also about timing. Her shop arrived just as Europe was going 'green’. The shop has always stood out with its green colour.

The shop and Anita Roddick have always been closely identified in the minds of the public. It is difficult to separate the company values from the issues that Anita Roddick cared passionately about – social responsibility, respect for human rights, the environment and animal protection, and an absolute belief in community trade.

Anita Roddick’s story is also an excellent story of public relations that targets the consumer with products to buy within the framework of a human journey of connecting values, people and products.

The news articles under StrandRidge.com are based on promoting the value of learning from the stories of successful entrepreneurs. Acting on the knowledge gained can lead us to more business opportunities.

The following are tips on how to craft and tell your business story to generate greater public awareness and to build relations with a community of consumers:

Your Solution
Begin by identifying the problem you are proposing to solve or need you can fulfill. A juice stall may exist not just to quench peoples thirst. There may be health benefits or a trend attached to it.

Describe what compelled you to identify the need and how you came up with the solution. Write about the satisfaction you and the consumer felt when applying your solution.

Your Journey
All businesses have a story of the beginning, the lessons learned from successes and failures as well as interesting events on the journey to where it is today.

Tell the story of the events and the human emotions involved in your journey. This makes the story memorable.

Your Perseverance
Explain what has kept you going in the business. People love to hear stories of endurance, persistence and resolve to stay the course in order to achieve a goal.

The telling and retelling of your story of perseverance can help you to re-enforce your passion for the business and compel consumers to want to be a part of your story.

Your Audience
It is good public relations to communicate your business story to an audience that includes prospects and consumers. A seller of refreshing flavoured teas may want to target trendy cafés and places where those practising healthy living congregate.

Your audience should also include those who provide the medium of communication such as journalist in the print media and online mavens on social media.

Always remain interested in the individuals and communities you serve. Building a relationship requires telling a story that is interesting while remaining informative. The essence of the story must remain on the solutions you offer the reader.

Keep communicating your story at business exchanges and meetings in the community you serve to build the long term relationships necessary for sustained success.

Siddha Param
International Business Consultant

Reboot your business plan for sustained high growth

Click For Link To:

CENTRE FOR EXCELLENCE

BUSINESS EXCHANGE DIRECTORY

Do share this article on social media and with those interested

0 Comments

Leadership Skills

Customer Care

Business Networks

Personal Development

Public Relations & Sales

Archives

STRAND-RIDGE news provides free business knowledge articles.

Categories